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Daeolin Haem
Biography Part 1: A Boy is Born On a cold rainy night, in the realms of The Far Lands screaming was heard from a small, yet well-crafted stone manor between the border of the Northern and Centralian Kingdoms. A young daughter watches as her mother delivers, and the father aids in the act. A boy is born in that house. This particular boy, in that particular house, on that particularly rainy night was given the name Daeolin Haem. This all took place in the year of 319 PD (post-Dormia). In the coming months of this newborn Daeolin Haem's life, Daeolin would strangely begin to develop bluish-blackish hair. A trait never observed in his family before, except in his sister, Hilda Haem. She'd been born 6 years before. A fact that she continuously stressed to Daeolin in the coming years and beyond. However, as the second child in the family, he was treated well. Given anything that was within reason to be given. He received all the best toys, and particularly all the best training... But that comes later... Part 2: Away the Boy Rode As the second-born child in his family, Daeolin had little prospects in his life. He could either fight in the Army, or join the Church of Centralia. That was pretty much all available with him. Being a monk or a priest and sitting in dark rooms scribing all day did not seem like a life for him. Not one bit. As his family were nobles, yet not high nobles, Daeolin was offered the chance to fight in the Centralian military as a Man-at-Arms. Which he managed to do at just the age of 16, because he was quite tall for his age. The young Daeolin, having been transported to a military camp at such a young age, was unaccustomed to the horrors of war. Or even how to fight. An older, bulkier Master-at-Arms by the name of Ser Jilis Serafin quickly taught him the ways of fighting. Ser Jilis was widely known as an expert swordsman. A swordsman who valued hand-to-hand, man-to-man fighting in his teachings. Daeolin caught on quickly on how to fight, mixing Centralian swordsmanship with Northern wrestling techniques which earned him a lot of winnings in the training pits at camp. Daeolin made many friends within the camps he visited. He met cobblers, masons, farm boys, and cooks. All joined together in a brotherhood of steel and comradery. He truly enjoyed the atmosphere of it. Though, what he wasn't prepared for was the scarring loss of men. When men's heads were caved in by maces, or when men's necks were shot in by arrows. He wasn't prepared for the inevitability of a soldier's life, and the inevitability of a soldier's death. Still: he knew there was no point in fighting it. He had to do what a soldier does best. Survive. Part 3: Moving on Up Daeolin was widely known as an impressive warrior among his compatriots, so much so that one bold halberdier remarked in his memoirs that "His sword was an extension of his arm, with every move deliberate, and every strike furious." Though, what he truly excelled in was strategy. Daeolin was a brilliant strategist, able to outwit many of his opponents on the field, and on the gameboards. Which he played frequently with his peers. Though, Daeolin never had to actually USE his skills, as the Central Kingdom was not at war with any kingdoms at the time. Though, this would change with a rather 'bumpy' baggage train incident. Daeolin and 12 of his companions were at the rear of a baggage caravan transporting grain from Holland to 'The River Village' (later named Allenstein by Duke Erik). While being transporting off-road, clearing themselves through a lengthy forest, they were set upon by a band of Western deserters who meant to steal the grain and ransom hostages to fund their operations in the future. Naturally, as the deserters were rather uneducated, and knew nothing of strategy, they loosed arrows towards the middle rather than the front. As Daeolin sat on a grain cart, driving the oxen ahead with a fellow companion named Maria Farche, a longbow arrow flew from the left, impacting Maria through her temple and killing her instantly. Daeolin, dumbfounded by the instant attack, fell backwardly into the grain behind him. He heard the whistling of many a-more arrows striking steel plate. He heard the faint rasp of swords sliding from the scabbards, as well as warhammers caving in skulls, with horses neighing and steel clashing. He heard as men yelled for mercy, and received it. Or didn't. He heard the sounds of lances breaking and beasts tumbling down to the floor. Was it oxen? horses? bandits? who knew... What he did know was that he needed to rummage out of the grain cart he was in and go assist his comrades. Which he did quite swiftly. As he rolled out of the cart and observed the lifeless bodies of his companions all feathered up with arrows, he heard the screaming of his Commanding Serjeant-at-Arms, Jeremi Teach, yell "TO ME! TO M-" before a crossbow bolt impacted his cranium, causing him to tumble from his horse onto the rough grass below. The young, now 19-year-old Daeolin now knew he had to stand up and assume a commanding role. Daeolin yelled now instead, taking over the dead Serjeant's place. "TO ME! TO ME NOW, LADS!" he yelled, his voice booming through his visored bascinet. As he did so, he observed the remaining 30 or so levies and footman rally around him as they slashed, carved, and bashed their way out of the ambush. Though grievously wounded and horribly outnumbered, Daeolin and his 30 merry men managed to break the deserters and scatter them to the brush in time for mounted reinforcements to make their way to the helpless position to ride down the deserters. By sunset, the Centralians had lost 52 men while the deserters had lost upwards of 100 men. With all of the supplies and grain making its way over to the River Village safely. The freshly crowned King Conwyn Farlon, in recognition of Daeolin's deeds, knighted him a few days after the skirmish in honor of his deeds, as well as this, the band he was with was short a Serjeant-at-Arms, and the band could think of nobody better than Daeolin to fill in that position. This, according to Daeolin, was the happiest time of his life. Though, as 5 months became 5 years, Daeolin's merry time came to a close in the form of bitter black armor and a whole ton of magic. Part 4: News From A-Far... In the cold, rainy sort of night. The weather Central was quite accustomed to. Daeolin was sat down at a makeshift desk, in his officer's tent, writing down therapeutically into a book which he kept under his bed, when all of the sudden, a raven's squawk came piercing through his ears as the feathered black bird landed outside of his tent, dropping a letter, and fluttering away into the moonlight. Daeolin quickly stood up from his seat, stretching, and making his way to the entrance of the tent where he ripped open the fold. He looked down to the ground, observing the letter at his feet. He leaned down, picked up the letter, and made way for his desk. Once observing the letter, he noticed the king's seal across the opening of it. Unbroken. He picked at the seal, opening the letter and removing the parchment from inside, reading. Inside the letter he found the plea of Conwyn to join forces, as a mysterious force named "The Black Knights" had besieged the Centralian Castletown, overthrowing the government and forcing Conwyn to evacuate with the royal family and the whole of the Harrion Guard, along with a garrison of guards to cover his retreat. Daeolin and his 50 men, who had taken up residence in the West to escort merchants and caravans, had strict orders from the Captain Alren von Loran to stay where they were to aid in sending supplies to the exiles. Daeolin would be very lucky to have not been involved in the first siege of the Central Castletown, as it was a complete disaster. Resulting in the death of Alren and many good Knights and men-at-arms. Though, the new Captain, Harrold Braun, summoned Daeolin from the West to act as his Vice Captain and logistical officer for the next assault, which Harrold as well the famed Advisor of Military, Toni Lexington, AND Ser Albert Karalis would lead. The second siege, with Western support, was a success indeed. Winning back the Castletown and restoring it under... Western control... Part 5: Rotation Daeolin was aware of how the West's help was vital to the retaking of the Central Castletown. He knew. He organized the delivery of the supplies to the men. However, he knew that unless somebody took action, there was absolutely no way that the West would withdraw from the Central Castletown. They had superior numbers, and a functioning army. Though, an opportunity arose that would allow Daeolin to take action. With the mysterious dismissal of Harrold Braun, this could only mean one thing. Daeolin would be sized up from Vice Captain to Captain. The new Captain Daeolin, thrilled at his new position, would kick off his new rank GLORIOUSLY by... Escorting yet another caravan from the Central Castletown to the River Village. "How spectacular..." he thought to himself, sarcastically, upon learning the news. Though Daeolin didn't know it at the time, the escorting of that caravan introduced him to the faces of the men and women that would be vital to him in the coming years of his life. On that single caravan escort task, Captain Daeolin met: Ser Albert Karalis "The Almighty", Dame Eleonora Rosamund "The Righteous", Ser Gregory Dolfray "The King in the Woods", as well as Ser Cedric Reyne, "The Dragonslayer". These were his new men, and with these new men, he'd finally made peace with himself that he knew how to command them. Daeolin spoke with his men as the carts went forward, attempting to know them as people rather than as units on a logistics paper. Though, in the back of his mind, that's what he knew they really were. Units. Despite this, he carried forth, making conversation with his Knights. He took notice to Ser Albert's quiet and brooding nature, as well as Ser Gregory's personable and wild nature, resulting in a quarrel which further escalated into Gregory punching Albert in the mouth, which even further escalated into Daeolin backhanding Gregory across the face with his gauntlet. Once that was all said and done, Daeolin heard a careful voice come from behind him. "Getting to know your men, eh? Not going so well, is it.." Daeolin turned to find Eleonora, in all her 5 foot 5 of pomposity. That's what he thought, anyway. Though he did notice at least an inch of chivalric pride within her, though it never showed when he was around. He noticed Cedric's cynical attitude, yet his helpful nature made up for his cynicality. Cedric acted almost as Daeolin's assistant in the quiet months that followed the Western occupation. This was his new family. These were his new brothers. Part 6: A World on Fire With life progressing forward, and with Daeolin leading the guard, life was pretty boring in the Central Castletown. Occasional mishaps would take place with 'madmen' printing posters against Conwyn, but apart from this, life went onward without much of a hitch. What could go wrong that could disturb this infinite peace? The Westerns had mostly fled apart from a small embassy. Though, one alarm bell would be a light switch against Daeolin. Flipping his life from light to dark. Daeolin's life would change for the worse. Daeolin heard faintly from his dreaming, sleeping state as the church's alarm bells' bronze base tolled and wailed in the distance. Daeolin raced to his feet, taking up his armor and sword to race from the gates with a large host at his back to find... fire... As Daeolin and his merry men thundered out from the safety of the keep's walls, they found citizens running and screaming for their lives, some burned, some not. Some taking up their few possessions and fleeing from the Castletown. But it was a trap. Daeolin and his men had been set up outside of the gates as crossbow bolts rained down upon him and his men from the rear. Many of whom were killed. Daeolin was wholly enraged by this action, though he could do nothing about it. With nowhere to go but West, Daeolin fled from the Castletown on horseback along with many from the Army. Including all of his own Knights. Men were wounded and many more were slain. A debt was due for Conwyn Farlon, with Daeolin and his merry men seeing to it that he paid it in full and that very soon... Part 7: Preparations Daeolin made headway for "The River Village", now renamed as Allenstein by Duke Erik Verner, an acquaintance of Daeolin. Daeolin, his few Knights (who acted as his generals), and what remained of the Central Army took up residence in Allenstein as exiles. Once again. Though, they could not accept their fate. Absolutely nobody was ready to give up and call it a day, accepting the fact that Conwyn Farlon, "The New Mad King", had kicked them out of their homes, their shops and their barracks. Everybody was ready for vengeance. Everybody was ready for blood. Everybody was ready to pick up from where they had left off. With these inspirations in tow, Daeolin aided in creating a council along with his Knights named (and later the Advisor of Magic: Kyra Memphsi being instated at a later date) "The Roundtable of Exiles" which worked to govern Allenstein and make preparations for what was expected to be a short siege. This council's first priority was to gather more men for the battle to come because although they Harrion Guard's numbers were low, they more than made up for their numbers with skill in battle. Every one of them was battle-hardened warriors who were fiercely loyal to Conwyn. In times such as these, Daeolin thought upon the assets he had around him, beginning to remember an asset in the North. 3 months prior to this whole fiasco, Daeolin had been ordered to lead an expedition to the North in order to establish influence and perhaps breed an alliance or two between the two powerful kingdoms. Daeolin was specifically tasked with attempting to meet the leader of the Warrior Clan only known as "Blackfoot". Once meeting with this man, Daeolin had promised the clan influence in exchange for their swords should they need them. "Blackfoot" demanded a blood oath to secure the match, so Daeolin did so. It was his duty. Pondering over this thought again and again, Daeolin realized that he was entitled to the Northern swords now more than ever. So, he sent a carrier raven to the North demanding the Northern warrior to come with his warriors to fight against Conwyn. The Northern "oaf", once arriving, demanded a duel against Daeolin to "prove his worth" in the war to come, to which Daeolin obliged. Daeolin ended up beating the Northern clan leader which earned him face with the men under his command as well as with the Northern leader himself, resulting in Blackfoot agreeing to stomp out Conwyn beside Daeolin and his men. As this situation was secured, letters began to arrive from the East from the Empress herself. Apparently, she had no love for Conwyn or his Harrion Guard, so she agreed to support the Centralians with many- WIP